“Life In the slum is even harder for people like us who live with disabilities. Sometimes I feel like giving up.”
Lucas Otin leads our way across a cramped dark alley that also serves as a wastewater drainage system to god knows where. He struggles to cross the endless drenches as he leans on his crutches for support. At one point he mistakenly slides into one filled with smelly filthy greenish water and we swiftly rush to his rescue. “I’ve got it.” He says as he tries to find his balance. “The dirty wastewater? We are forced to find normal in that. The drenches pass just right near our front doors. I am so used to the disgust to a point it does not affect me anymore.” He says as he resumes the trail.
A few minutes later, we find ourselves at a junction where the dirty water drenches have formed a small reservoir. Next to it, stands a small grocery kiosk made of tattered polyethylene material.
“This is my small business to support me and my family. I wake up very early every day and head to Marikiti market to fetch vegetables for sale. I have walk to and fro the market to save that fare so that I can consolidate enough to get an affordable boda boda rider to transport the stock from the market to this place.” Lucas tells us.
Caption: Lucas attending to his grocery kiosk
“Life In the slum is even harder for people like us who live with disabilities. Sometimes I feel like giving up. In fact, that has occurred to me a couple of times during this COVID-19 stricken period.” He sighs.
“Before we got the handwashing facilities donations, a number of customers had stopped coming to buy things from my kibanda because I did not have a nearby handwashing facility. They feared that I might have not been washing my hands as frequently as possible therefore standing a bigger chance to transmit the disease. This really affected my business which made it even harder for me to purchase a decent handwashing facility.” He continues.
“I was so delighted when I managed to convince KWAHO that the area of my premise needed a decent handwashing facility! Now, I and people living around can easily wash my hands whenever. Also, I get to store enough water for my customers to wash their hands as they come to sort out the vegetables for their purchase! Although the business is not doing as good as before the pandemic, I am glad people out there are thinking about our wellbeing by offering donations to help us contain the disease.”
Comments